The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-11-20

| biO IiNObbt uAtOhhiNO buhpso Whph se@uAs'S's
grasses, and abundant indications Of min
eral wealth are reported by all of these trav-
ellers. The picture they draw Of Terra del
Fuego is very different from the idea Of the
island generally accepted during the past
three centuries and half; that Idea being
based on the judgment of visitors like Capt.
SAMUEL WALLIS who reported that the
whole land seems like the immense ruin Of
former world" or like Admiral ANsoN, who
pronounced It the most horrible country 1t
was possible to conceive;" or like Capt. Cook,
who said: There Is no place In the world
which offers such desolate landscapes"
The truth about the Terra del Fuegans
themselves, however, Is what will most In
terest everybody. They do not wear tails.
They are neither man eating giants, as some
travellers have reported, nor the smallest
and most ab1ect Of beings, as others have
affirmed Two very distinct races inhabit
the island; In the north the Onas, and In the
south a tribe called the Yahgans. From his
long residence among them, Mr.. BRIDGES
is the most competent authority concerning
the natives Of Terra del Fuego. The Onas
were greatly reduced In numbers year or
two ago by an epidemic OF the measles.
There are hardly more than half q thousand
Of them now. They are large, muscular, and
active. with huge abdomens; hunters, living
in tents and shooting game with the bow
and arrow. They can run with incredible
swiftness and are warlike rather than
placable. The women do the work. Mr..
PoPPER thinks that the Onas resem-
BILE tribe Of North American Indians
rather than the Patagonian savages.
OF the Ona women he says: 1.-THE only
decoration observed on the women is a
bracelet OF perforated shells. 1t Is quite i'm
possible to distinguish the females from the
males by their dress. though they exhibit
but little modesty in exposing their persons"
OF the men. he says: THE wounds have
seen them inflict on themselves, which per-
haps are connected with some superstltious
belief, denote strength Of mind. and lead me
TO the conviction that these aborigines can,
without much suffering. bear fatigue, hum
ger, cold, and every species OF painful i'm
preston"
Mr.. BRIDGES has some good words for the
much slandered people Of the south, the
Yahgans. They are not cannibals-they
look upon human life as sacred. They do
not eat uncooked meat. They do not marry
with blood relatives. They do not tattoo
themselves. The girls paint their faces
for fashion and the men for mourn
ing. They are merry and COM
panionable people when their bellies are full,
but in general their disposition is crofty and
treacherous. They live In villages and are
fishermen rather than hunters, and expert |
with their canoes. The principle Of woman's |
rights is so far respected among them that |
the wife can dispose Of the fish she catches |
beyond what Is needed for the wigwam.
The most remarkable thing about the Yah
gans is their language. Primitive as are tho
manners Of this people and limited their re-
quirements Of expression, Mr.. BRIDGES has
compiled a dictionary or vocabulary Of their
dialect including not less than thirty thou
sand words. AS they cannot read or write,
and have no literature, this vast accumula-
ton Of the tools Of thought is one Of
the pathological wonders Of the world.
Tho Yahgan language possesses great
abundance Of grammatical forms. Lieut..
BovE describes the dialect as "sweet, pleas
ant, and full OF vowels." Prof. MAX Mill
LER doubts whether, 80 far as sound is
concerned any one would consider Fuegian
as inferior to English"
Whence comes this Observation-Disclosures?
Is it the one heritage Of degenerate race
from highly civilized ancestry